Clear Choice Vendor Spotlight: The High-Tech Extracts of Seattle’s Refine

We love the old-fashioned thrill of crumbling fresh and fragrant flower into a pipe as much as the next budtender, but one of the most exciting aspects of being in the cannabis industry is discovering how cutting-edge science and technology are taking this truly ancient plant medicine to the next level. It’s no exaggeration to say that, thanks to them, today’s cannabis connoisseurs have access to flavors, aromas, and experiences that the stoners of yesterday could only have dreamt of.

That’s why we want to shine a spotlight on Seattle’s Refine, a very special company producing some of the most potent, flavorful and exciting extracts we’ve ever tried. Their high-tech (no pun intended) products like Loud Resin are an intriguing and always-popular addition to the classic and exotic flower, tinctures and edibles we stock our shelves with.

Refine: Unlocking the Secrets of the Cannabis Plant

Cannabis concentrates have been growing in popularity for decades; as we’ve written before, dabs are just the tip of the iceberg. But what’s changed in the last few years is a focus on extracting the purest, most flavorful and terpene-rich concentrates possible. That takes a lot of how-know and a strong scientific grounding. Refine brings both of these and more to the table with their flagship Loud Resin offering, a “live resin” powerhouse of pure, unadulterated flavor.

Live resins are a class of extracts made from frozen fresh—as opposed to dried—cannabis. Why? While drying makes cannabis suitable for smoking or vaping, it tends to diminish the flower’s overall terpene content. By performing the extraction under extremely cold conditions (typically below 120 degrees!), the resin maintains a more complete profile of delicate, flavorful terpenes. The result is an almost shockingly rich and flavorful cannabis experience: The full spectrum of the plant’s terpenes expressed in a potent, concentrated (and highly delicious) offering.

While some manufacturers reintroduce terpenes to their extracts, Refine tends to shy away from this practice (with the exception of their Refine Activated Distillate product line, a translucent oil containing up to 99% cannabinoid content). That said, we’ve tried some phenomenal products containing reintroduced terpenes; at the end of the day, it really comes down to a matter of taste!

Some Favorite Refine Products

We’re excited to be able to offer Refine products for you to try. As always, check our live menu before heading down to the dispensary, as our stock changes at a moment’s notice!

Ice Cream Cake

With genetics deriving from Wedding Cake and the white-hot Gelato strains, this extract is a full-bodied powerhouse with strong kush-like funky flavor and nearly trippy, full-body effects.

Dread Bread

A nearly balanced indica-to-sativa hybrid, this relatively rare strain is noted for its unusually pungent flavor and long-lasting effects. Look for noticeable uplift, energy and creative stimulation coupled with a soft and relaxing body high. (Can you tell it’s one of our favorites?)

Cookies and Cream

A hybrid produced from Starfighter and a Girl Scout Cookies phenotype, this concentrate is noted for a delightfully appealing sweetness. It’s well-loved by patients looking to quell daytime symptoms like chronic pain and anxiety, but go easy: Overindulgence has been known to lead to an early bedtime!

Ready to get your hands on some? Then stop by our Tacoma or Bremerton dispensaries—you can even order online right now.

A Unique Concentrate: How to Smoke Resin

In the age of recreational legalization, more forms of cannabis are available for sale than ever before. Within recent years, a variety of cannabis concentrates have begun to grace the shelves of dispensaries, offering consumers potency and quality previously confined to underground circles of cannabis enthusiasts. One peculiar example that has made a splash is live resin, a powerful, dense substance quickly growing in popularity across the country. For any who come across this unique concentrate, here is everything to know about how to smoke resin.

What is Live Resin?

While other types of concentrates are relatively well-known to cannabis consumers at this point—with the most famous being wax, shatter, and crumble—live resin has become noticed by the wider cannabis community relatively recently. Live resin, commonly referred to as simply “resin”, is manufactured through a process distinct from other concentrates.

The major difference between the production of resin and its sister concentrates is the state of the cannabis used in making resin. Typically, when concentrates are manufactured, dried cannabis is used, as it has undergone a process known as “decarboxylation,” which activates components of the cannabis plant that imbue it with psychoactive effects. Live resin is produced using frozen, whole cannabis plants that have not yet been decarboxylated.

Live resin is known to be slightly less potent than other concentrates, but the benefits are made apparent in the quality, flavor, and aroma of the resulting substance. For this reason, live resin is often more expensive than its counterparts produced with dry bud, as the unique profile of the cannabis plant is preserved for a luxurious experience.

How to Smoke Resin

For those wondering how to smoke resin, it is used just as one would use any other concentrate. Dabbing rigs are the most common method of using concentrates. These can be purchased from a wide variety of smoke shops and dispensaries. Before purchasing a dabbing rig, it’s recommended to thoroughly read reviews and gather as much information as possible on the item you intend to buy, as dabbing equipment can be more expensive than other forms of cannabis consumption.

Vaporizers can also be used to consume resin, though this only applies to vaporizers specifically designed for cannabis concentrates. Wax pens and other specialty vape pens can provide a convenient, quick means of putting resin and other concentrates to good use.

The Benefits of Live Resin

Many users of concentrates swear by live resin for its enhanced terpene profile, which captures the peripheral qualities that make the experience of smoking cannabis enjoyable. Live resin is a gourmet cannabis concentrate, which is why the rare dispensaries that currently stock resin offer it for prices higher than typical concentrates.

Overall, resin produces a fuller, more desirable cannabis experience than the alternatives, owing to its richness in terpenes. Terpenes are the compounds within cannabis that lend cannabis its distinct aromatic qualities. Resin contains up to five times more terpenes than its counterparts, so it’s readily apparent why resin has become such a sought-after quantity in the cannabis space.

Clear Choice Cannabis has a large selection of cannabis concentrates to choose from, including a variety of live resins from the top concentrate manufacturers in the state of Washington. Check out our online dispensary menu to view our full assortment of cannabis products.

Vendor Highlight: Northwest Concentrates

With a tide of legalization sweeping the nation, new cannabis products are being developed in recreational states. Previously under explored varieties of products like cartridges and concentrates are now available in unique and often extremely potent forms at dispensaries across the country, and a liberated industry has enabled the development of a variety of creative flavors.

While the massive wave of new brands and products has provided cannabis consumers with more options than ever, the sheer quantity of arrivals to the market has made the experience of shopping disorienting for many first-time dispensary visitors. This week, Clear Choice features Northwest Concentrates, manufacturers of clean and potent concentrates almost certain to inspire a repeat purchase.

About Northwest Concentrates

Northwest Concentrates is a premium cannabis brand from Xtracted Labs that aims to bring the ethos of the Pacific Northwest, valuing cleanliness, quality, craftsmanship, and transparency, to the process of manufacturing concentrates and all varieties of extracts. Developed in the Washington State, Xtracted Labs uses only the finest ingredients and cleanest extraction method in creating their line of wax and other products.

Northwest Concentrates 2 — Source: @x_tracted

Xtracted Labs was formed in 2012 by experts in the Seattle cannabis community who resolved to make clean, powerful extracts to serve the needs of patients and customers in the state. In fact, Xtracted Labs’ pioneering effort shaped the rules and regulations the Washington cannabis industry abides by today.

Signature Northwest Concentrates Products

As one of the most reputable concentrate brands in the state of Washington, Northwest Concentrates places a high emphasis on maintaining total purity of their product. Their line of waxes developed from a variety of strains, some well-known and some obscure, exemplifies this commitment to product integrity and stands out as a key offering from Xtracted Labs.

Each package contains about one gram worth of concentrate, which can go a long way if the consumer is efficient with their purchase. With over a dozen different strains to choose from, multiple purchases may be necessary to get a full scope of what this product has to offer.

Where to Find Northwest Concentrates

For now, Northwest Concentrates can be only be found in the state of Washington. Xtracted Labs partnership with regulators in the state of Washington has guaranteed their status as a trusted brand, sought after by the cannabis market at large.

Clear Choice Cannabis is proud to offer over 13 varieties of Northwest Concentrates wax and other products from Xtracted Labs at our Bremerton dispensary, located just outside the city of Seattle. From Cherry Pie to Purple Punch, your purchase is guaranteed to be worthwhile. Order online now!

Cannabis Concentrates: What They Are & How to Use Them

We are blessed with a plethora of options when deciding how to consume our beloved herb. Cannabis concentrates are quickly becoming a favorite, especially with seasoned cannabis enthusiasts. Concentrates appear in many forms, but the essential common thread is that they isolate cannabis trichomes — and their powerful cannabinoids, like THC or CBD.

The Power of Cannabis Concentrates

This isolation means you won't consumer unnecessary plant material and other impurities, which has a few benefits. For one, your pipe or bong will stay clean much longer; and one can only imagine that something similar is happening in the lungs… And, of course, concentrates are going to have a significantly higher percentage of cannabinoids; meaning that you can take much less of it for the same effect.

But when it comes to psychoactive cannabinoids like THC, this can actually cause trouble. It’s very common for even veteran enthusiasts to get unpleasantly high on their first concentrate experience. Cannabis concentrates typically range between 50-80% THC, with superb products coming in as high as 90%. For comparison, cannabis flower ranges between 10-25% THC. Be very mindful of this while navigating concentrates for the first time. (And ask our budtenders for help!)

Terpenes can be hard to preserve during the extraction process, so the flavor may not be as enjoyable as flower. However, many companies have started adding terpenes in at the end, so that’s an option for a more flavorful concentrate.

Dabbing has become one of the most popular methods how to smoke concentrates, which involves heating a “nail” on a dabbing rig and applying the concentrate to the hot surface. You can also add concentrates to your bowl, joint, or compatible vaporizer.

Types of Concentrates

Hashish: Cannabis concentrates are currently experiencing a surge in innovation and popularity, but hash (the OG concentrate) has been around for centuries. It is formed by taking stalked resin glands from the cannabis plant and rubbing them together to remove the trichomes, as well as other similar methods. The result is a sticky brick or ball.

Kief: You already know kief, also referred to as dry sift or pollen. It’s the sticky-icky on your fingers after rolling a joint, it’s the crystal-like substance at the bottom of your grinder. Kief is usually sifted to separate the trichomes, and like hashish, it frequently contains plant material.

Shatter: This name, and the ones that follow, describe the consistency of modern cannabis concentrates, which are generally free of all impurities. In this case, we’re talking about a hard glass-like substance that can also resemble pulled taffy.

Budder/Batter: These two are soft in consistency, making them great for spreading onto joints or blunts. Budder has a consistency similar to butter, and batter the consistency of cake batter.

Crumble: Indeed crumbly in texture, this concentrate has a honeycomb consistency.

Sugar/Sauce: A concentrate has a consistency similar to wet, sappy sugar is called “sugar.” Sauce is a thicker version that has a more uniform and prominent crystalline structure.

Distillate/Oil: As you may have guessed, this refers to a liquid, oily, consistency. Oil is what goes into cannabis cartridges and pre-filled pens, and it also can be found in syringes.

It’s an exciting time for cannabis, and the world of concentrates is no exception. Keep your eyes on this ever-changing market for the continued evolution of our cannabis options.

In the market for top-shelf cannabis concentrates in Tacoma, Washington? Stop by our popular Tacoma dispensary for help choosing your new favorite products, or check out our online dispensary menu.